Rebirth: A Cinderella's Counterattack

Chapter 716: Chapter 696: Things Start to Get Strange

”Yoohoo...” Old Master Jimo was about to retort when he suddenly furrowed his brows tightly, looking at the small phone under the coffee table that resembled a toy, blinking merrily.

Seeing Old Master Jimo’s complexion slightly change, Old Master Luo also furrowed his brows.

Old Master Jimo did not avoid Old Master Luo, and directly picked up the phone from under the coffee table: ”Hello... What?... Okay, I understand... Mhm.”

In those brief two minutes, Old Master Luo saw Old Master Jimo turn from serious to shocked, and then to a silent state.

Until Old Master Jimo put down the phone, Old Master Luo had not said a word. There are some things that it’s better not to ask about, to avoid getting a refusal which could be awkward.

”Qianqian and Jin Nian might be targeted,” Old Master Jimo said with a grave expression.

Hearing it was related to Luo Qianqian, Old Master Luo couldn’t sit still anymore. He almost slammed the table as he stood up, ”What’s going on?”

”Old Hei and the others lost the cargo on their way back,” Old Master Jimo said, his brows tightly knit. ”The news I received is that the goods meant for this jade trade fair haven’t even been shipped out yet. That means...” were Luo Qianqian and Jimo Cheng the only two who had shipped out goods?

Does this mean there’s something wrong with this batch of cargo? Or is it saying...

”You mean ’lost’ as in?” Old Master Luo was somewhat puzzled.

”As in, vanished into thin air,” Jimo Kong said, his face full of bewilderment. ”They were clearly just... How could they just vanish into thin air? Could it sublimate?”

”How high would the temperature need to be?” Old Master Luo rolled his eyes.

Old Master Jimo shook his head, ”But I feel, I just have this feeling, that this is aimed at Jin Nian and Qianqian.”

Old Master Luo furrowed his brows tightly.

Soon after, Old Master Jimo picked up the phone again, made a call, and after hanging up, his face was still stern. ”The jade from Han Moxuan has no issues.”

”So what?” The fact that Han Moxuan’s jade has no problems doesn’t mean anything.

Old Master Jimo looked at Old Master Luo before saying, ”When Jin Nian and Qianqian came back, they brought back a batch of ’raw jade’ from there.” Especially that piece of Apple Green, which had already become the highlight of this occasion.

After all, the Emperor Green is not something you can see every time.

”So?” Old Master Luo was also getting a bit frantic. He was somewhat indifferent about targeting the Jimo Family, even more so about the jade, but if it involved targeting Luo Qianqian, that was absolutely unacceptable! He already felt guilty enough for not informing his granddaughter about the arranged marriage with the Jimo Family beforehand. If something else happened, how could he face his deceased son?

Right before his own eyes, the two children of his third son were taken away in broad daylight, without news for a long time until the granddaughter finally made contact.

This one had already been forced to get engaged to what was practically a stranger. If she were dragged into something else, he really wouldn’t be able to face his third son anymore.

”So... how would I know what’s next? Right now, there is no news at all, only that things have been lost, but no idea how they were lost. They were in sealed boxes! Have you seen that detective show with the little glasses? This is a secret chamber theft, not a secret chamber murder!” Old Master Jimo said with a serious expression.

”Then why are you so excited?” Old Master Luo looked at Old Master Jimo, struggling to control the twitching at the corner of his eyes, really wanting to give him a mirror to see his expression right now.

”Having watched that detective show for so many years, finally something like this happens near me, how can I not be excited?” Old Master Jimo’s explanation was somewhat reasonable.

But soon, he couldn’t smile anymore.

Jimo Cheng, Luo Qianqian, and He Wenyu were in the study, admiring Old Master Jimo’s collection, continuously amazed. Each piece of paper and ink was a collectible item.

”Senior brother, why does Grandpa Kong collect these? It doesn’t seem like he intends to sell them and make a profit, right?”

Looking at the paintings on the wall, Jimo Cheng smiled, ”Grandpa says that these things have a limited quantity—all the more collected, all the less available. In the future, these will become treasures, preserved for generations to come, also minimizing damage from those who don’t appreciate their value during their circulation.”

”Senior brother, do you think if I paint a painting, it might become an antique hundreds of years from now?” Luo Qianqian asked eagerly, ”If that’s the case, I’ll paint one now, then give it to my child, and have my child pass it on to their child, haha, it will become an antique through generations, won’t it?”

”Even if the neighbor of Wang Xizhi wrote a poem or a phrase, and it was passed down to us today, it would only have archaeological value, do you think it holds any collectible value?” Qin Nuan ruthlessly struck her down without any hesitation.

On the other hand, Jimo Cheng covered his mouth and chuckled lightly, ”Jin Yuee’s calligraphy is still quite good.” Having seen Luo Qianqian’s casual doodles, he knew she would definitely not pursue the same path as him.

”That’s just an average level, not enough to be passed down through ages.” Qin Nuan had seen Luo Qianqian’s calligraphy as well—while admitting it was quite good, she knew many others who wrote much better.

Luo Qianqian pouted and had to admit Qin Nuan was right—it was the truth.

”Senior brother...” Luo Qianqian looked at Jimo Cheng with a pitiful face.

”Hmm?” Seeing Luo Qianqian’s expression, Jimo Cheng immediately felt heartache, just speak out whatever it is.

”How about you paint something for me, I want it to be an heirloom.” Luo Qianqian’s eyes blinked earnestly as though it was indeed the case.

Jimo Cheng’s face showed helplessness, and a relieved, indulgent smile crossed his face as he shook his head gently, ”Okay.”

Just as Luo Qianqian was about to say something, Jimo Cheng’s phone rang.

With a look of suspicion, Jimo Cheng picked up his phone. Not many people knew his number, he only saw a message: Contact me.

”Who is it?” Jimo Cheng frowned and showed the phone to Luo Qianqian and Qin Nuan.

”The person asking you to contact them must be someone you know,” Luo Qianqian stated matter-of-factly, otherwise how would they have gotten your phone number? Especially since there is no real-name system yet.

Qin Nuan, however, slightly furrowed her brow, ”A scam call? The kind where they charge you a lot of money when you call back?”

”Or maybe they say you’ve won a big prize and ask you to send some processing fee or tax to some bank?” Luo Qianqian immediately followed Qin Nuan’s line of thought.

Qin Nuan added, ”It could also be someone pretending to be a customs officer or a bank official, claiming you’ve made some purchases somewhere.”

Luo Qianqian nodded, ”That might actually be believable, especially since I’ve made purchases overseas.”

After hesitating for a moment, Jimo Cheng decisively redialed the number.

”Hello?”

”Hello, this is..., may I ask your last name?”

”My last name is Jimo, no need for formalities.”

”Okay, please hold.”